2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SLSP3500 Gender, Technologies and the Body

20 creditsClass Size: 40

Module manager: Dr Patricio Simonetto
Email: P.Simonetto@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

Pre-requisite qualifications

Normally 20 credits at level 1 and Level 2 in a social science discipline or within the appropriate discovery theme.

Module replaces

NA

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module explores the intersections between gender, technology and the body in relation to both mundane and spectacular bodily practices and transformations. Ranging from washing machines to branded clothing to syringes full of steroids to smart phones, the module explores what it means to transform (or resist transforming) the gendered body in interaction with technology. It is an opportunity to ask what counts as the 'good' body; what novel forms of embodiment arise out of the interaction with technology; and in what ways the social relations of class and race are obscured or made visible in those processes. The module will also include visits by guest speakers engaging in particular practices and activities, with the opportunity for questions and discussion.

Objectives

This module aims to:

- Explore the intersections between gender, technology and the body in social life
- Equip students with the methodological and conceptual tools to make sense of those intersections across a range of everyday domains and practices.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Understand the main theoretical approaches to the intersections of gender, technology and the body
- Relate to those theories to a wide range of both spectacular and mundane domains and practices
- Critically evaluate materials from a variety of sources (academic / popular media / activist / policy)

Skills outcomes
By the end of the module the students should have developed the abilities and skills:
- To engage with the relevant concepts through both written work and seminar participation
- To communicate ideas and concepts clearly
- To engage critically with the relevant literature
- To apply key theories and concepts to a range of topics and materials.
- To make use of a range of online and offline resources and sites, including the library, the internet and the media.

Syllabus

Feminist technoscience
Shock of the old – everyday technologies
Domestic technologies
Technologies of the self(ie): Mobile phones and the internet
Technologies of survival: Conservation after nature
Technologies of reproduction
Technologies of aging
Technologies of death and dying
Normalising technologies
Technologies of enhancement

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
On-line Learning	11	1.00	11.00
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			168.00
Total Contact hours			32.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

In addition to the taught elements of the module, students will be expected to prepare key readings each week, plus seminar tasks 105 hours, which may include short group presentations and debates, discussion questions or the sharing of materials and resources (images, advertisements, blogposts etc) as the basis for discussion and analysis. Students will also be expected to carry out additional reading in preparation for their assessment (70 hours).

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Progress will be monitored through contributions to tutorial activities.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	5,000 words	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 26/07/2023 13:26:02

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